Syria fears it is next on Bush's hit list

Syria has called for an end to the "occupation" of Iraq, while a high-ranking official said the country was concerned about threatening accusations launched at Damascus by the Bush Administration.

Syria "urges the international community to exert every possible effort to put an end to the occupation and manage the catastrophic situation that has resulted from the aggression", said a statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday said he had "scraps of intelligence" that Syria had given refuge to high-ranking Iraqi officials. But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, US Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to assuage fears that Syria and Iran were next on Washington's list for "regime change", saying recent warnings were not meant to suggest Washington would take military action against these countries.

Imad Moustapha, Syria's deputy ambassador to Washington, said: "I think certain elements in the US Administration are unhappy about existing relations and co-operation between Syria and the United States, and are doing all they can to undermine such relations.

"This is a dream agenda for the coalition of neo-conservatives and extremists in the (Israeli) Likud party. But it is counterproductive and does not serve long-term US interests in the region," he added. ");document.write("

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Many Arab leaders consider the US attack on Iraq part of a larger plan to reshape the Middle East, partly to make the region safer for Israel.

Iraq, Iran, and Syria have all supported the Palestinian goal of establishing an independent state on land currently under Israeli occupation.

Syria has maintained that it supports the Iraqi people against the US incursion, but opposes Saddam Hussein's regime.

Syrian officials say the US military presence in the Arab world sets a precedent that could make it easier for Washington to invade other countries that have policies the Bush Administration finds unacceptable.

"This is a threat to Syria and the US will soon find excuses to deal with Syria the way it dealt with Iraq," said Wahba al-Zuhali, a professor and cleric who drew a crowd of students as he spoke at the Islamic law department at Damascus University. "The US will eventually pay the price for interfering."

The students said Iraqis in Baghdad should not cheer US troops. "They should have revolted against the Americans, the occupiers," said one woman called Nevine. "America could do this to any Arab country. We might be next on the list."

In an interview in Damascus, Egypt's ambassador to Syria, Mohammed Ismail, said political change in the Arab world must come from within.

He also said he had no information that Syria had helped transport Iraqi leaders across the border.

To counter US accusations, Syria has reached out to Britain to reason with Washington, said Syrian officials and European diplomats. Britain said on Thursday that it was continuing talks with Iran and Syria.

"Syria and Iran now have the chance to play their part in building a better future for Iraq," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told Britain's House of Commons.